Sustainable University: On-Grid Solar PV Powered EVs Charging Station on Campus

It is frequently considered that universities are morally responsible for promoting sustainable practices, as they prepare a new generation of youth to take up work. An important step in promoting sustainability practices amongst university communities is to build a greener campus by means of sustainable transport infrastructure. The university can also support the transition towards zero transport carbon and UNs Sustainable Development Goals by sustainable electric vehicles (EVs). EVs can be charged using energy from fossil fuel or renewable energy resources. Fossil fuel based charging stations will still contribute to carbon emissions. Therefore, EV charging stations on campus must be powered by renewable energy sources to reduce carbon emissions. This paper aims to conduct a comparative economic and environmental analysis between standalone grid-powered and grid-connected solar PV powered EV charging stations at a university campus. Four types of energy system designs are considered: Grid only, Grid-Battery, PV-Grid and PV-Grid-Battery energy systems. Grid-Battery system is introduced here for charging batteries during off-peak hours and then discharging during peak hours which can reduce the electricity bill significantly. The net present cost, cost of electricity and carbon emission are used as performance indicators. The results show that the PV-Grid system is the best energy system among the four designs, in terms of economic and environmental benefits for EV charging stations.